Jesus continues to identify himself to the seven churches of Asia in his opening comments to each of the individual churches.

To Sardis Jesus is the one "who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars." The "seven spirits" is a reference to the sevenfold character of the Holy Spirit as described in Isaiah 11:2-5 - the Spirit of the Lord, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. This is the Spirit that rested upon the Messiah and makes his authority legitimate and his judgment righteous. Along with this sevenfold Spirit of the Messiah Jesus also is authoritatively holding the seven stars, or messengers of the seven churches he is addressing. Jesus sees his leadership as Messiah manifesting in the churches through these pastors, elders or messengers. These men are responsible to Jesus and to no one else. He will empower them, but he will also judge them.

To Philadelphia Jesus is "him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open." Since Jesus is "true" he is worthy to be trusted by the church of Philadelphia. Their faith will not disappoint them. And, since Jesus is holy, the faith of Philadelphia should produce corresponding righteous behavior. The "key of David" is a reference to Isaiah 22:22 where Eliakim was entrusted with the key to unlock the treasures (or, to lock up the treasures) of the royal house of David. In Philadelphia Jesus hold the key to the royal treasure which is a reference to the souls of the people. The church of Philadelphia is going to have a door opened for them and they need to have the faith to enter the treasure room, but they must also enter in holiness as a church.

To Laodicea Jesus is "the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation." The word "amen" means "so be it" and indicates what was said is what will be done. Jesus tells Laodicea that he is the "so be it" for everything he has said would be. In other words, Jesus' testimony to creation is exactly what is going to happen. The testimony of Jesus, who is the Word of God and the revealer of God's plan, was faithful to God's will and Jesus' witness was true to God's character. It will be done just as the second member of the Trinity testified it would be because the one who provided the faithful and true witness is also the one who will see that it is "so be it" done.

"We all talk of reforming others without ever reforming ourselves."
- Peter of Alcantara

The Salem witch trials occurred in colonial Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693. More than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft—the Devil's magic—and 20 were executed. Eventually, the colony admitted the trials were a mistake and compensated the families of those convicted. (from Smithsonian.com here)